Recipe Box: Mini Spinach Asparagus and Mushroom Leek Quiches

We’ve heard it said a million times that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Which is why we love a breakfast dish like this one that can be eaten at any hour of the day. Quiches are one of our favorite ways to eat eggs for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and these light and healthy quiche recipes that Lauren Lowstan whipped up are our new favorite flavors. She showed up to our latest LaurenConrad.com photo shoot with these mini quiches in hand and our mouths instantly started to water! We loved her spinach-asparagus and mushroom-leek flavor combos, but the great thing about quiches is that it’s easy enough to add in your own favorite veggies once you know the basics of making them. This personal sized breakfast is the perfect finishing touch to your weekend brunch menu or easy to make ahead and store in the refrigerator for your weekly meal prep. If eggs and veggies are your favorite way to start the day, keep scrolling to see how you can master these delectable recipes… 

Ingredients:

Makes 10 4-inch tarts

• ½ recipe of Martha Stewart’s pate brisee
• 8 eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• a pinch of nutmeg
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• garlic powder
• olive oil
• 4-inch tart pans
• dried beans or pie weights
• 4 stalks of asparagus
• 1 cup spinach, packed
• ½ of a leek, finely chopped
• ¼ carton of sliced mushrooms
  
  

Instructions:

1. Roll out your chilled pie dough, until it’s about ¼-inch thick. Place one tart pan under the dough at a time and press the dough on top of it. The edges of the pan will cut out a perfect size for your tart. Press the dough into the pan and up the sides until it hits the top. Prick the bottom and sides of the dough all over with a fork. Repeat with remaining tart pans.

2. Place the mini tart pans on a baking sheet and place in the freezer.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the eggs, half and half, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Set aside until ready to use.

4. For the asparagus/spinach quiche: chop the asparagus into ½-inch pieces and set aside. Bring a pot of water to boil of high heat. Once your water is at a roiling boil, add in the asparagus and cook just until they look bright green, about a couple of minutes. With a slotted spoon, take out the asparagus and add them to a bowl of ice water to shock them and to stop them from cooking. Set aside.

5. In a saucepan set over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil, spinach, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of garlic powder. Cook until the spinach is wilted down, remove from heat, and set aside.

6. For the mushroom/leek quiche: in a saucepan set over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil, the leeks, mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, and a pinch of garlic powder. Cool until the mushrooms start softened and get a nice browning on all sides, about 5 minutes.

7. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

8. Once the pie dough is completely frozen in the pans, take them out of the freezer.

9. Cover each tin with a circle of parchment paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake in your preheated oven for 7 minutes.

10. Take out the beans/pie weights and parchment paper and cover the bottoms of each quiche with a layer of Parmesan cheese. Place them back into the oven until the cheese is melted, about 3-5 minutes. This will give your quiche a sturdy bottom so that it doesn’t get soggy.

11. Cover the bottoms of your quiche with your veggie add ins. Sprinkle the asparagus and sautéed spinach over half of the tarts, and the mushroom leek mixture over the other half.

12. Pour the egg/heavy cream mixture over the veggies until it reaches the top of the tart pan. (You’ll notice that the veggies will start to rise to the top. Don’t worry, that’s supposed to happen). Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese over each quiche, until all of the tops are covered.

13. Place the quiches back into the oven, and reduce the heat to 325 degrees. Bake until the tops of the tarts are nice and golden brown, and they are no longer jiggly, about 15 minutes.

14. Remove quiches from the oven and make sure they are completely cooled before removing them from the tart pans.

15. Top each quiche with the remaining herbs and veggies. Enjoy!

We know what we’re serving up this weekend! This recipe is especially fun when you swap out the ingredients and whip up a whole new creation.

Are you going to try this amazing quiche recipe?

Let us know if you do in the comments!

XO Team LC

Photos: Valorie Darling Photography for LaurenConrad.com